Nur Communication Transcript

I also knew that I would be implementing the Ebola Big Idea of the Week. It was basically taking these messages that were preexisting, and then making modifications based on current need. If they saw that there were challenges around burial practices and safe burials, that maybe this one week's message was around that. There was a really integrated approach of it being a radio, the radio messages, they could be crafted for newsprint, they could be crafted for healthcare workers, if people wanted to do interviews--it was really for journalists to be able to take this and use it as a guide to develop how they were going to communicate about Ebola that week. I was lucky in that the person that was there left me with I think two or three weeks' worth of content. But then I was asked to develop the next four to six weeks of content. It was a good experience, but it was a little challenging because there's a cultural element to it, right? I need to know what's happening. They have different holidays or cultural celebrations or national celebrations that take place, and making sure that what we're encouraging people to do, like trying to discourage mass gatherings for a national--Independence Day. That's not the example, but for the sake of this conversation, an Independence Day celebration, and reinforcing the health precautions around mass gatherings and things. So, yeah. There was a lot that I learned while I was there. There was a whole conversation about infection prevention as it relates to chlorine and the right mixture for handwashing versus cleaning. I don't know. But you learn who your points of contact are and who you can work with, and you really have to stay on your toes. I remember somebody said that when you deploy, you might go over thinking that you're going to make bread, and you end up having to fix cars. You just have to be prepared for whatever you're asked to do. It should be skills-based, but you may get on-the-job training. I hadn't had a lot of field epi, but I was working with people that I could learn what they wanted me to do for case investigation […]